A prolific author has said if he did not live in Wirral he probably would not have been as successful.
Ramsey Campbell is known for his spine-chilling tales of ghosts and the occult and horror stories that are continuously put on par with the writings of science fiction author H.P. Lovecraft.
Now 75, Ramsey has a back catalogue of work spanning six decades and has written more than 37 novels - manyfrom his desk at his home in Wallasey, Wirral.
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The author concedes that he may not have been as successful a writer had it not been for the "inexhaustible" tap of inspiration from across Merseyside.
He said: "It doesn't take you very long to go from one part of Merseyside to being in a completely different area.
"It is filled with a huge range of places. An inexhaustible source of inspiration."
Ramsey, who was born in Liverpool and moved to Wirral in the early 1980s, said he began writing short stories at the age of 11, admitting they weren't very good he said they were a "Frankenstein's monster" of other tales he had read.
After discovering the works of Lovecraft and seeking advice from Lovecraft's friend and publisher, he knew writing was all he wanted to do and had his first short story published when he was just 16.
He said: "They had needed a lot of work, but it was a very heartening experience.
"I would say these first stories were imitation stories and it wasn't until I was 19 that I wrote a story that was really me - my writing."
That book was The Cellars in 1965 which was inspired by old tunnels under Rumford Place in Liverpool, he said: "I got the chance to go down there and explore the disused cellars and they were so atmospheric they inspired the story.
"In fact now, looking back, the whole book is like a historical snapshot of what life was like in the city centre then."
Ramsey very much believes in the supernatural himself - he said his home is haunted and has witnessed coins falling from mid-air and believed burglars were forced to flee and leave behind his wife's jewellery because of a spirit in the attic.
But his own experiences with the supernatural don't become horror stories, rather he prefers the inspiration to come from ideas that manifest out of a place - many here in Merseyside.
He said: "Parkgate looks out on to no water and a sea of grass - that haunted me for years and I thought very long about what story could come from it.
"Then I finally settled on one with a ghost ship cutting in across the grass in my story 'The Ferries'."
The myths and legends of Thurstaston, Formby's famous pinewoods, the haunted Newsham Park and even an underpass on West Derby Road have all been fertile ground for one of Ramsey's stories to grow and take novel form.
Another tale of Ramsey's 'The Companion' which was inspired by the old fairgrounds of New Brighton, was chosen by Stephen King as his favourite horror story for 'The Arbor House Celebrity Book of Horror Stories' describing it as "horror beyond my ability to describe".
Ramsey said: "I have never been overly graphic in my work, preferring the power of suggestion and exercising restraint when it comes to graphic details.
"I want my readers to be disturbed rather than horrified and my books are written for people who enjoy language."
Ramsey is currently working on his latest work of fiction, 'Fellstones' about an ancient monument in a village that has cosmic powers.
You can read more about his works here.
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